Red Flag Weather Warning For Southern California

LOS ANGELES—The National Weather Service has announced a red flag weather warning for Southern California, affecting areas of Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Urgent fire weather conditions are expected to affect Southern California through Friday, November 18. The cause for these weather conditions arise from the combination of gusty northeast winds and low relative humidity. The National Weather Service stated these conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior, which would threaten life and property if fire ignition occurs.

Two small brush fires in the San Fernando Valley have already sparked from these winds, and they were both quickly put out in the morning on Thursday, November 17. There were no reports of any structural damage or injuries.

North and northeast Santa Ana winds are expected to blow at 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts at 45 miles per hour. Relative humidity will be at a minimum of five to 15 percent with poor overnight recovery. The red flag warning stated that “for Friday, the air mass will dry out further with relative humidity dropping down into the single digits across many areas.”